The present invention concerns transport apparatus for transporting articles along a predetermined path. The invention relates more particularly to transport apparatus which can be remotely controlled and energized and which is suitable for use in contaminated environments.
For health and safety reasons it is usual to provide remotely controlled equipment for handling and transporting toxic or radioactive materials. In a known remotely controlled apparatus the motor for moving the materials is exposed to the contamination. It is therefore necessary to decontaminate the motor and its associated equipment before any servicing or repair work can be carried out.
It has been proposed to provide a transport apparatus comprising a carriage which is supported on a track and which has a motor unit comprising levitating magnets and a linear motor. The levitating magnets lift the carriage and by means of feedback transducers control the height and position of the carriage with respect to the track. The linear motor is used to propel the carriage along the track. In this known arrangement the levitating magnets and the drive motor are part of the carriage and would, if the apparatus is used for transporting contaminated materials, become contaminated. It would therefore be necessary to decontaminate the entire transport apparatus before the magnets and the drive motor could be serviced or repaired.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a transport apparatus capable of handling or transporting contaminated materials and in which component parts of the apparatus which are most likely to require maintenance during use are not exposed to the contamination.